In recent years the carry out merchandising of food and drink has trended away from factory packaging toward on-site dispensing from bulk containers into smaller containers. Further, the trend in beverage dispensing is toward customer-furnished refillable containers.
Potable beverages, such as milk, syrups, juices and carbonated beverages are furnished in throwaway cartons, cans or bottles or returnable bottles that are cleaned and refilled at a factory. For on-site consumption such beverages are dispensed by employee through suitable nozzles into glasses, being mixed, as needed, in the nozzle or glasses. The employees may also fill customer-furnished containers.
From the standpoint of cost and consumer convenience the provision of ways and means for the self-service dispensing of beverages in stores and markets into relatively large reusable containers brought in by customers will effect considerable savings. However, there are some problems to be overcome in order to achieve this goal. First, in existing systems where the customer furnishes the container and fills it himself, the dispensing station has no control over cleanliness of the container or the filling procedure used, and there is no way to block contact between the container and the dispensing nozzle. As a consequence, the dispenser may become contaminated. Second, the small necked bottles used for carbonated beverages are impossible to fill without a lot of splashing unless the nozzle fits into the bottle or a funnel is used. Fitting nozzles into bottles is unsanitary and physically damaging to equipment. Funnels heretofore in use are made of metal and are unsanitary, hand held, cumbersome, inconvenient to handle, hard to clean and often nick or otherwise damage both the dispenser nozzle and the bottle.
Many bulk dispensers for beverages exist and are well known. The present invention is a method of and a system for adapting both new and existing dispensers to self-service refilling of customer-furnished bottles, while providing the desired sanitation, convenience and avoiding damage to equipment, which fills a real need for the public.